The American Women s Club in Stockholm. Constitution. and. By-laws and Charter of the AWC Travel Scholarship Foundation

Transcription

1 The American Women s Club in Sweden The Round Robin The American Women s Club in Stockholm Constitution and By-laws and Charter of the AWC Travel Scholarship Foundation

2 CONSTITUTION Article I - Name The name of this organization shall be The American Women s Club in Stockholm, hereafter referred to as the AWC. Article II - Objective The object ive of the organization shall be to bring together American women, residing in Sweden, to foster companionship and friendship among countrywomen as well as assist them in their assimilation into Swedish life. Article III - Membership Participation in the AWC may be Full, Life, Honorary, or AWC Friend. All applications will be put before the Executive Committee. All applicants must meet eligibility requirements and be approved for membership via majority vote of the AWC Executive Committee. A. Full members: An applicant for full membership must be a female American citizen either by birth or naturalization. The applicant s citizenship must be valid at the time of application. Full members may participate in any AWC activity, hold office, vote on any matter related to the AWC as well as attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or any special meeting. Full members may invite guests to any of the monthly programs exept the AGM. Non-resident Full members enjoy all the privileges of the AWC and pay dues. B. Life members: A Life member is anyone who has been a Full member of the AWC for 35 years. A Life member is not required to pay dues. C. Honorary members: An Honorary member may be nominated and elected as such by the AWC Executive Committee. Such members, through their position or work, may be or have been a benefit to the AWC. Honorary members enjoy all the privileges of the AWC but do not vote or pay dues. D. AWC Friend: Female non-u.s. citizens can apply to participate in the activities of the AWC by submitting an AWC Friend application to the Executive Committee for approval. Once approved, they will pay dues, receive the AWC newsletter and participate in AWC actitivies without requiring an invitation of a member. They cannot, however, become Full members of the AWC and thus cannot hold office, vote on any matter realted to the AWC or attend the AGM. These participants shall be called AWC Friends. The number of AWC Friends who can participate in the AWC will be limited to 15% of the AWC s total membership. Article IV - Dues Annual dues will be payable in September. Members who fail to pay their dues by September 30 may be dropped as members. Members joining in September through May will be required to pay full dues at the time of admittance. The amount of annual dues and

3 any additional administrative fees shall be determined by the AWC at the suggestion of the Executive Committee. Article V - Officers and Duties of the Executive Committee The officers of the AWC shall be president, first vice president, second vice president, secretary, treasurer, business manager, evening events coordinator, membership coordinator, database coordinator, and Federation of American Women s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) representative. The Executive Committee shall consist of the above-mentioned officers. Section 3. The duties of the members of the Executive Committee shall be, in part, to attend meetings, to be responsible for the accounts and funds of the AWC, to submit a report of the AWC s activiies to the AGM for approval, to promote the welfare of the AWC, and to appoint a standing Nominating Committee whose members can service no more than four consecutive years. The Executive Committee shall have the right to make decisions regarding the AWC s activities and procedures.any additional administrative fees shall be determined by the AWC at the suggestion of the Executive Committee. However, the Executive Committee may not pass amendments to the AWC constitution. The process for constitutional amendments is addressed in Article IX. Section 4. The positions of the AWC newsletter editor, webwoman and U.S. Embassy liaison will be non-voting, appointed and overseen by the Executive Committee. Section 5. The Nominating Committee shall appoint two auditors who are to audit the accounts of the treasurer and make their report at the AGM. Section 6. The president and treasurer are ex-officio board members of the AWC Travel Scholarship Foundation. The Executive Committee shall appoint one additional AWC member, one alternate AWC member, and one non-awc member to serve a two-year term on the board of the American Women s Club Travel Scholarship Foundation. Article VI - Executive Committee Meetings & Special Meetings The Executive Committee shall hold regular monthly meetings from September through May. Five officers who are eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum of the Executive Committee. Section 3. A majority vote of the members of the Executive Committee shall suffice to carry a motion in Executive Committee meetings.

4 This does not apply to questions concerning the constitution. The process for constitutional amendments is addressed in Article IX. Section 4. Special meetings may be held at the request of a minimum of ten full members of the AWC or at the request of the president. Section 5. A minimum of two weeks written notice must be sent to all eligible AWC members via mail or electronic means prior to the date of any designated special meeting affecting the AWC as a whole. This notice requirement shall not apply to any activity group or committee meeting. Article VII - Elections The Nominating Committee shall consist of five members, one of whom will be the chairman. At least one month prior to the election, this committee shall present a list of nominees for all vacant offices to be elected at the AGM in May. The elections occur by closed ballot. Members not present may vote via proxy, mail, or electronic means. Members may also write in a candidate of the ballot. The Nominating Committee shall conduct the election annually for vacant offices. They shall tally the votes and report the results at the AGM. Section 3. In case of a tie, the president shall have the deciding vote. Section 4. Officer shall be elected for a term of twoyears. They shall not serve longer than two consecutive terms unless they are elected by the majority of the votes cast. Section 5. When vacancies occur on the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee shall appoint a replacement from the existing pool of potential AWC leaders. Theis appointee, if she would like to continue in her office, will stand for election at the following AGM. Elections will occur at each year s AGM. The election would place the newly elected officer into the beginning of a two-year term. Article VIII - The Annual General Meeting The AGM shall be held before the end of May, and the following business presented for approval: a. Reports of the Executive Committee b. Report of the auditors c. Election report of the Nominating Committee. Motions made at the AGM must be carried by a majority of votes cast to constitute a valid decision by the AWC.

5 Article IX - Amendments This constitution may be amended by a two-thirds majority of votes cast at the AGM or at a special meeting in the form of a closed ballot, via proxy, mail, or electronic means. Notice of the proposed amendment must be given to the eligible membership a minimum of two months before the question is to be voted upon by the AWC. Article X - Dissolution Should this organization desire to dissoluve, a written proposition to that effect must be made to the president and signed by at least one-third of the members, stating their reasons. The president shall put this proposition before the Executive Committee. Notice shall be given to eligible AWC members a minimum of two months before the question is to be voted upon by the AWC at a special meeting or at the AGM. The decision to dissolve the AWC shall be made by at least a two-thirds majority of the voting members. The AWC welcomes new members! Questions about new or current membership? Do you want to report a change of address, telephone number, etc.? Please contact: Ellie Winnerkrans ellieheiler@hotmail.com New to Sweden? So, you ve just arrived in Sweden and you ve become a member of the AWC! If you have any questions about your new country, or about how to get involved in the Club, just call one of your EC members for help! Need help with writing, editing, indexing, managing publication projects or training writers, editors, and translators? Good. We ll help you. In case of a dissolution, the funds of the AWC shall be given to one or more Swedish-American organization(s). This decision shall be made by at least a twothirds majority of the voting members of the AWC. Amended May American Writing & Editing Call Visit Write to judy.petersen@mailbox.swipnet.se

6 BY-LAWS and CHARTER OF THE AWC TRAVEL SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION The board of directors shall carry out the purpose of the foundation and to that end collect and manage the collected funds. 1. The board shall consist of four regular members and one alternate. The four regular members shall be: the president, the treasurer and one additional club member of the parent association AWC, together with one outsider. 2. The three Club members, and an alternate, together with the outside member, shall be elected for two years by the board of the parent association, the AWC, every even year. 3. The president and vice president of the foundation shall be elected within the board for two years every even year. 4. The treasurer, together with the outside member, shall submit the foundation s financial condition by report to the board for submission to the parent association AWC by March 1 and latest by March 31 of each year. 5. A resolution requires the presence of four members including the alternate. A resolution is carried by simple majority. In the event of a tie, the president, or in her absence, the vice president, has the right to cast the deciding vote. The alternate has no voting right when all regular members are present. 5(a). A unanimous vote by the board is required to change or annul these By- Laws. 6. A board member has no vote in the event such member or someone related to such member has a personal or economic interest. 7. There shall be three general board meetings a year. Two board meetings are to be held in the spring and one in the fall. The scholarship shall be awarded at the second spring meeting which shall be held in April. 8. Business signatories shall be determined yearly by the board. There shall be two business signatories who shall be chosen from among the board members. They shall sign jointly for the business of the foundation. Charter of The AWC Travel Scholarship Foundation Address: AWC Scholarship Foundation, P.O. Box 12054, Stockholm 1. PURPOSE: This foundation is created for the purpose of facilitating study for female American citizens at an official Swedish educational institution. 2. TARGET GROUP: In order to be eligible for the scholarship the following conditions must be met: (a) applicant must be a female American citizen, and (b) accepted by an official Swedish edu cational institution.

7 3. FUNDS: In order to facilitate the opportunity for studies, a scholarship is granted equivalent to costs for a roundtrip air ticket New York-Stockholm. In the event that it is financially possible, more than one scholarship may be granted. Should the financial position of the foundation be such that it does not permit the granting of a scholarship in a particular year, that year s scholarship is suspended. The decision relative thereto is made by the board of directors of the foundation. The foundation has a starting capital of SEK The parent association AWC donates this money. Contributions to capital shall be by gifts and donations from AWC and outside donors. To carry out the objectives of the foundation, the foundation s capital, including its earnings, can be used. 4. This foundation is exempted from official supervision. Stockholm, June 1982 Founder: The American Women s Club in Stockholm Amended November 2004

8 A jungle adjusting to a new country? Concerned about your child's education? Call Guideline - Supporting life's first quarter! Ingemarsgatan 3A, Stockholm (Birger Jarlsgatan at Roslagstull) Tel carol@guideline-consulting.se